The Young Crow
by thedragonprincess21
Summary: Kudo Yusaku and Yukiko end up stumbling into the Black Organization. Even though it was unintentional, both are killed and their eleven-year-old son, Kudo Shinichi, is the only witness to the act. Regretful that she hadn't been there in time to save her friend, Vermouth manages to convince the Organization to spare Shinichi's life - if he cooperates and joins their ranks.


**Author's Note - **This story follows the idea of Kudo Shinichi falling into the hands of the Black Organization far earlier in his life. I wanted to see a story that didn't have it where Shinichi was completely corrupted the Organization - more on the edge of being corrupted if anything. This will basically be a story of how being involved in the Organization tests his morals. The ultimate question will end up being if he'll either fall over the edge or if he will be able to stand firm in his views. Only time will tell.

*Note - None of these characters belong to me, of course. There may or may not be a couple OCs of mine in the future, but those would be the only characters that belong to me. While this isn't based off any episode or manga chapter, it _still _follows the same timeline as the series. So there is a great chance that there will be spoilers as I will often use episodes as references. I will be trying to keep everyone in character, but if anyone sounds a bit off - feel free to mention it! I want to improve my writing as much as possible.*

* * *

**Prologue**

_"Shin-chan!" _

Shinichi groaned a bit when he saw his mother waiting for him outside the school - waiting for him. She had a wide smile on her face and was waving at him. "_Kāsan," _there was a bit of a whine to his voice, "you're embarrassing me! I told you I was going to walk Ran home today."

A smile twitched on Yukiko's lips as she observed her son's cute reaction. He was blushing a bit and next to him, Ran was giggling. She rubbed his head. "Okay, okay. I just wanted to stop by to check on you two. Make sure you keep an eye on him for me, okay, Ran-chan?"

Ran beamed. "I will!" As his mother turned and walked back to her car, sending them off with another wave, and as she drove away, Shinichi muttered, trying to smooth his hair back down. Ran turned towards him, a mischievous look in her eyes, "Shinichi, your mother is so nice! You should be nicer to her."

"I _am _nice," He protested, finally giving up on fixing his hair, "but I _did _tell her I'd be walking you home today. It wasn't like I didn't say anything!"

Ran started giggling again. "I'm just kidding! Let's go, okay?" She ignored his mumbling and the pair of them started heading toward the Mouri Residence. As they were walking, Ran smiled at him. "My karate tournament is coming up soon! Are you going to come?"

Shinichi was now expertly bouncing a soccer ball on his head, "Yes," He replied, his tone making it sound like that should be obvious to her, "you came to my soccer games, after all." Earlier in the year, they had made a promise that if Ran came to a few of his soccer games, he'd come and watch her do karate - he didn't intend on going back on his word.

She didn't seem bothered by his tone. "Sonoko said she'll be coming too! I'm so excited!" She paused for a moment, a thought seeming to cross her mind, "I'm kind of nervous, though, too... it sounds like there's going to be harder competition this year."

Shinichi glanced toward her, catching the ball in his arms when he noticed her troubled expression. "_B-baka," _He said after a moment of hesitation, looking away from her, "I'm sure you'll do fine. You've been practicing every day."

"You really think so?" She wondered, sounding hopeful.

"Duh, why would I say that if I didn't mean it?" Shinichi grumbled and he started walking ahead of her – not seeming to notice the happy smile on her face as she skipped up behind him.

It didn't take them too much longer to reach her home and when they did, Ran grabbed his hand, "Do you want to come inside? My dad ordered way too much curry last night. There should be plenty for you."

Shinichi hesitated for a bit – he had promised his parents that he'd come home as soon as he was done walking Ran home, but having a bit of curry wouldn't hurt, would it? He was pretty hungry – as long as he didn't stay for too much longer it should be okay. With that in mind, he decided to follow Ran up into her home. It ended up taking longer than he thought it would because Ran needed some help with her math homework – so he used Ran's phone to call his parents to tell them he'd be just a bit late.

By the time he started back home, the sun nearly about to set. It may have been a better idea just to stay the night at Ran's, but he felt like he'd be able to get back home before it became too dark out. When the young boy reached the Kudo Mansion, all seemed to be normal. The gate had been left unlocked and through the curtains he could see the living room's lights on. His parents were most likely both up still to ensure he did make it back safe. Shinichi opened the front door, hanging up his bag and taking off his shoes. Once he was indoors, he could hear voices coming from the living room. It sounded like the TV. "Hey, I'm home_—" _His greeting was cut off abruptly by his own gasp.

In front of him was a horrific scene. Both his mother and father were sitting on the couch, slumped over, and bleeding profusely from their heads. "_Tōsan, Kāsan!" _He nearly stumbled over himself as he hurried over to them, checking their pulses as his father had once showed him. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a false hope – unfortunately, he'd already seen a couple times in his life how bullet wounds looked – and he knew that both his parents had been shot. A rush of panic and fear seized him when he couldn't find any pulse on either of them. In that moment, a bit too late, he realized that whoever had done this to them could very well be still in the house. A shadow lurked in the corner of his eye, and just as he spun around – a gunshot rang out and suddenly his right shoulder was on fire, causing his knees to buckle as the pain shot through him.

As he gripped his shoulder, a low, male voice broke the silence. "Yeah, their brat is here now. He saw his parents. Should I just go ahead and finish him too?"

There was a low crackle in response – Shinichi assumed the man was talking to another on a radio of some sort.

"Roger. I'll go ahead and clean up this mess and meet up with you in a couple hours."

In the small span of time throughout the man's conversation, Shinichi had taken that chance to try and slip away and hide. His head was beginning to swim due to the blood loss, but if he could just reach the phone and alert the police… maybe the man would get spooked and run off. It was unlikely, but he had to at least try… Somehow, he managed to make it into the kitchen, but he could hear the man cursing in the other room – most likely just now noticing that Shinichi had scurried off. There was a phone in the kitchen, but he decided to be safe and ducked into one of the kitchen cabinets. It was a good move, because only moments later, he heard the man step into the kitchen. Trying to calm his breathing, Shinichi huddled deeper into the cabinet as the stranger circled around the kitchen. He could hear him opening a few of the cabinets as he passed by, but by some sort of insane luck, he didn't open the one that he was in.

Then everything went quiet.

Shinichi tried to strain and listen, but he couldn't hear any footsteps. Maybe the man had gone upstairs to look for him? If so, this might be his only chance to call. He waited for a bit longer, counting to ten slowly in his mind, before he peeked out. It was now or never. If he waited for any longer, he knew he'd probably either be caught by the man or end up passing out. He darted out from the cabinet, trying not to make too much noise as he hurried over to the phone. Reaching up with his good arm, he grabbed the phone, and just as he was about to dial for the police, another shot rang out – causing him to cry out in shock as the phone was shot out of his hand. The man, dressed from head to toe in black, stood there, gazing down at him menacingly. "Tricky little brat." He grumbled, and before he had time to aim his gun once more, another voice made him pause.

"Don't shoot, _Pisco."_

A woman with long, blonde hair stepped into the kitchen. For a moment, she glanced at Shinichi. While he wasn't completely sure, it almost appeared as if there was a touch of guilt in her gaze.

Pisco tsked in disapproval, but still, he lowered his gun. "Why shouldn't I? He's just a boy, but he's seen my face – and now yours. Better off for the lot of us."

"I received permission from the Boss to keep him alive – as long as we take him in."

The older man scoffed a bit. "Seems like a waste of time to me—"

"The Boss gave his okay." The woman cut him off, waving a hand. "Go clean up, I'll take care of the boy."

"Tsch. Fine. Boy's probably almost dead anyway." With that, Pisco left the room.

He wasn't wrong. Throughout their conversation, Shinichi seemed to be close to losing consciousness and as the woman approached him, the last thing he saw and heard was her bending down and murmuring something that sounded like: _"I'm sorry… Yukiko"._

**Chapter One**

_Five years later. _

The first two years were his rebellious years. When he first found out that he'd been kidnapped, Shinichi had tried every way he could think of to try and escape – or at least notify the police somehow. He was placed under the care of a woman who called herself Vermouth. Back then, he'd been very determined to bring his parents' murderer to justice, but Vermouth, who would normally be patient with him, finally snapped at him at the end of his second year and brought reality to his situation.

_You need to stop this. If you keep this up, it won't just stop at your parents. They'll start coming after your friends and anyone who were involved in your life. _

The image of Ran bloodied and lifeless was enough to stop him in his tracks. And, grudgingly, from that point on, he cooperated. It was a good thing too, because after following Vermouth's lessons in the arts of disguise and acting for those two years, the next three years he was put under the watchful eyes of Gin and Vodka. The duo was known for their cruelty and Shinichi had no doubt in his mind that if he would have kept on trying to escape – they would have killed him on the spot. Under their training, he was introduced to all sorts firearms. Up to this point, he has managed to keep on their good side. Well, the two of them didn't really have a good side, but with them – it was always good if you managed to stay off their "to-shoot" list.

Vermouth didn't completely step out of his life – it didn't escape him that she always did seem a bit protective over him. He never knew why, she didn't explain of course, but it _did _seem as if she did genuinely care about him. When he wasn't training with Gin and Vodka, she would be tutoring him in academics. It was only a few days after his sixteenth birthday – he'd spent nearly half the morning and afternoon training under Gin. While firearms were the main focus, Gin would also take time aside to teach him martial arts as well and today they did both – so he was exhausted as he stepped into his room for studies.

She was waiting for him, her lips twitching up into a smile when she looked up. "Rough morning?"

"That guy is merciless." He muttered. On top of that, wearing black was a policy now – so that didn't really help him during workouts.

"Well – I have some good news for you. You'll be able to escape Gin and Vodka for a bit. The Boss wants you to carry out your first mission."

Upon hearing that, Shinichi perked up just a bit, but then he hesitated. Up to this point, the Black Organization hadn't required him to kill anyone. Gin and Vodka had taken him out in the forest to hunt animals for practice a few times, but never any humans. Would he now finally have to? He wasn't sure if he'd be able to.

Seeming to notice his hesitation, Vermouth shook her head slowly. "You won't be required to kill anyone for this mission," she stated, guessing his thoughts, "that is, if you're careful. This mission is more of a trial if anything – to test your loyalty. You'll be placed undercover as a new transfer student of Teitan High School for the next year. Because there will be students there you've known in your childhood, the Boss thought it would be a suitable assignment for you. Further notes about the mission are in this folder for you," Vermouth nudged a portfolio over to him, "make sure you read it thoroughly."

Shinichi took the portfolio, on the front it read –

_**Mission Brief**_

_Details enclosed within for #1484._

He grimaced a bit at the number. Over the course of time, that number had become his identity. Occasionally, Vermouth would call him Shinichi, if they weren't in public, but he'd grown tired of hearing the number. It was a known fact that the Organization only handed out names to members of whom were recognized. Otherwise, you were just another nameless. A number.

Moving past the cover, he opened the folder – there was only one page within.

_#1484,_

_This mission is strictly an undercover assignment. For a year, you will be required to pose as a student at Teitan High School. During this year, please take it as an opportunity to sharpen your academic skills. Keep in mind that you are _**not **_to compromise the Organization in anyway. The very purpose of this mission is to assess your loyalty. If you fail to take heed of this warning, dire consequences will follow, and we cannot guarantee the safety of any of whom are involved._

_You will be going under the guise of Nakamoto Ryota – you'll remain your actual age, sixteen years old, and enter the school as a second year. When your background is questioned, please give the following explanation: Up to this point, you've been homeschooled, with your aunt (Vermouth), who will be known as Nakamoto Asuka in this scenario ,as your legal guardian. Your parents passed away at a young age – you don't remember them too well and you've been living with your aunt ever since their deaths._

_At the end of each month, you will be required to submit a progress report. In this progress report, you are to write – in detail – what has happened over the course of that happened. While this is more of a mock mission if anything, this writing exercise will be beneficial to you in the future._

_*Note – I am very pleased with your current progress. Should you manage to exceed above expectation with this assignment, the reward will likely be a promotion. Do not disappoint. _

_Ano kata._

After reading over the notes a few times, Shinichi finally tucked the page back into the portfolio. During the while, Vermouth was standing there, waiting for him to finish. "…I'm guessing you already have disguises set up for us?"

"Yes," Vermouth nodded, "_Nakamoto Ryota _is going to take after his father – my "brother." You'll be dyeing your hair blonde – that way you won't have to bother with a wig. As I mentioned a while ago, wigs are convenient for brief moments, but for long term – dye is more reliable. Along with that, you'll be wearing green contacts – and it may be a good idea to scruff up your hairstyle a bit. The cowlick is cute," she smirked, "but since you'll be encountering people who knew you in the past, it'll be best for you to hide it just in case."

"When will I be enrolled?"

"In the next three days – in the meantime, we'll be preparing. We're going to have our own apartment in Beika during this time, so we'll take that time to move in. I won't always be able to be around – so it may be wise to mention that I have a business job of sorts that requires frequent trips. That should help explain my absence."

Shinichi couldn't deny that he was excited. For the past five years, he'd been stuck in one of the many branches of the Organization. He hadn't been able to leave – not without some sort of supervision. Even then, he'd only been able to see property owned by the Organization itself. He was never taken into any town or city – much to his disappointed. He didn't really have much to pack as they began their move – Vermouth brought him outfits, all black – which he still wasn't very fond of, but after time he'd grown to accept it. Other than his clothes, he did have a few novels and textbooks – and his old, worn out soccer ball, but that pretty much summed up his possessions.

The apartment wasn't anything too fancy. It had one bedroom for Vermouth, and one bedroom for him. The living space was combined with a small kitchen, bathroom, and it was already fully furnished. One thing that caught his eye was the nice flat screen TV. Back at the branch, there were a couple TVs, but he never had time to stop and watch anything. He had to admit that he was looking forward to being able to catch up with the world. Sitting on the coffee table in front of the TV there was brand new laptop and phone. "Are these mine?" He wondered as Vermouth stepped out of her room.

"Yes. Only as your time as Ryota, though. Also – since I won't be here as often as you, feel free to decorate as you like. You're not required to wear black undercover either, so you're free to do some shopping too." She threw a wallet over to him. "There's cash in there to start you off. There should be also be a paper in there with your new bank account on it – you'll be able to withdraw what you need from it, but use it wisely. It'll be one of the few things monitored."

Three days passed quickly.

Before he knew it, it was already the morning of his first day of school. He'd grown used to waking up at ungodly hours – Gin would usually boot him out of bed if he overslept so to avoid that, he'd gotten into the habit before the man had the chance to do so. Apart from that, he was also a bit nervous and didn't specifically sleep too well the night before. He was completely unrecognizable now – with his blonde, messy hair and green eyes. His skin was naturally a bit tanner than it used to be – from all the time he's spent outdoors – but still, not too dark. On top of that, he was now wearing a Teitan High School uniform. It was strange seeing another color on him after so long. Vermouth was already off assigned on her own mission – he didn't know when she'd be back to check in, but really the only purpose she served for his assignment was being the "guardian" he could contact should it be required. Otherwise, she didn't really need to be around all the time.

He was on his own.

It was a bit of a distance from the apartment to the school, but he decided to head off a bit earlier to walk instead of hailing a taxi. It'd been a very long time since he'd last seen his hometown and he was curious of how much changed – some sightseeing wouldn't hurt. As one would guess, a lot had changed and some of it was still the same. The scenery was beginning to resurface old memories – memories that he quickly brushed away. He needed to be careful and not lose sight of the situation. It was certainly tempting to veer off to the nearest station and reveal to the police that he was the missing son of the Kudo Family, but he knew better now that the result of that would be disastrous. He had no doubt that there would be agents scattered about secretly watching him and he couldn't risk putting anyone innocent in danger.

Eventually found himself in front of Teitan High School. The atmosphere around him was light and welcoming. Students passed by him, through the school gates, mingling with one another as they headed for the entrance. It was convenient that it was start of the year – it wouldn't be as awkward as it would have been if he stepped right in the middle of it.

Not wasting anymore time, Shinichi—no _Nakamoto Ryota—_disappeared easily into the flow of students.

_Mission start._


End file.
